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Patch •

NYC Nightclub The Box Settles Sex Harassment, Unpaid Wages Lawsuit

Read more: Sex, Drugs Forced On Women Employees At Exclusive NYC Nightclub: Lawsuit A former bottle server received an undisclosed amount in a settlement over her claims that the Lower East Side club's management allowed "customers to sexually harass and abuse her" and pressured her "to lure male customers to The Box so that they could be sexually serviced by others," according to court documents filed this week.

Male customers would be "serviced with sexual acts, sexual intercourse, drugs, and
Patch •

Sex, Drugs Forced On Women Employees At Exclusive NYC Nightclub: Lawsuit

NEW YORK CITY — Bosses at exclusive New York City nightclub The Box had a directive for what a former waitress should do for clients: "ANYthing they wanted."

The ex-bottle server contends in a recently filed federal lawsuit that she was physically, verbal and sexually harassed by a management team who not only allowed "customers to sexually harass and abuse her," but pressured her "to lure male customers to The Box so that they could be sexually serviced by others."

After recruiting male clie

Misinformation 'Superspreader' Dr. Mercola Owns Veterinarian's Popular Blog.

Bestselling “Forever Dog” author and veterinarian Karen Shaw Becker describes herself as the “most followed veterinarian in the world” on her website. But dog owners who read Dr. Becker’s blog may never know that the pet-focused website, “Bark & Whiskers”, is listed by Mercola as one of “six different product brands” of “Mercola Market” — and that Mercola’s founder is Joseph Mercola, ​​dubbed the “most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online” by The New York Times in 2021.

The
Patch •

Central Park Fest Caused $205K+ In Damages Before 2023 Mayhem: Records

Records obtained by Patch show the Global Citizen Festival — the marquee event of the nonprofit advocacy organization Global Poverty Project — has repeatedly been issued damage fees dating back to at least 2018 over "failure to perform its restoration obligations" in accordance with agreements with the city. The recurring damage, capped by the September 2023 festival's unusually high damage bill, has prompted the Central Park Conservancy — the nonprofit that oversees the park — to discourage sim
Patch •

BK Pedestrian Killed In Dump Truck Crash, Driver At Large: NYPD

The victim, Maria Piovanetti, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene at about 6 a.m. after medics found her laying in the intersection of Tilden Avenue and Bedford Avenue near Kings Theatre, police said. An initial investigation by the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad found that Piovanetti was walking westbound from the northeast corner to the northwest corner on the marked crosswalk on Bedford Avenue when she was struck by a 2014 Kenworth dump truck traveling southbound on Be
Patch •

Patient Abuse, Deaths In NJ Psych Hospitals Detailed In New Lawsuit

The 99-page lawsuit, filed in federal court last week by advocacy group Disability Rights New Jersey, names New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman, New Jersey Department of Health Acting Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, as well as the respective agencies and the state of New Jersey as defendants, alleging state leaders did not do their jobs adhering to federal discrimination laws while caring for 1,150 patients around the state. “These abusive conditions involve patient-o
Patch •

Most Dangerous NJ Counties For Pedestrians: See The List

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's fatality analysis reporting system, the highest number of fatal pedestrian crashes reported in 2017 to 2021 — the years for which the most recent data is available — were in Essex County with 106 deadly hits. Camden and Bergen counties followed suit with 94 and 79 fatal crashes, respectively. The Garden State reported a total 916 crashes during those five years. Salem, Hunterdon and Sussex counties reported the least pedestrian cr
Patch •

Workplace Deaths In NJ Reach Highest Level In Nearly 20 Years

One hundred sixteen workers were mortally wounded in the Garden State that year, with nearly half of those deaths stemming from transportation-related incidents. Of those transportation-related incidents, 10 involved pedestrian vehicular incidents, 11 involved roadway collisions with another vehicle and 12 collisions involved a driver striking an animal or object on the side of the road. Related: NJ Temp Workers Say Tragic Car Crash Shows Urgent Need For Change Twenty-one more deaths were attrib
Bushwick Daily •

As Reports Of Hate Crime Rise in Bushwick, Activists Push For More Protections At Nightclubs

On a chilly April evening in Bushwick outside the Market Hotel, 23-year-old Maxwell Vice Tong exited the club with some friends after a show, only to be met with multiple glass bottles hurled at the crowd from a passing car. Quickly following the attackers on a skateboard to catch the license plate number, Tong watched in horror as one of the car’s passengers promptly hopped out with a gun in tow.

“We were standing outside of Market Hotel and we were very visibly the only queer people of color
Middletown, NJ Patch •

Middletown Twp. Committee Candidate Charged In 2004 With Theft, Forgery

The candidate is Nicholas Babcock, who is running alongside Rocky Rios on the Democratic ticket for two Middletown Township Committee seats. The Democrats are running against Republicans Tony Perry (the current Middletown mayor) and Kimberly Kratz. Babcock declined to answer any questions specifically about his arrest. He did tell Patch that he tried to drop out of the race, citing health reasons, and is awaiting the results of the background check Middletown Democrats ran on him.

A search of A
Manalapan, NJ Patch •

Face Masks Required At Manalapan Wegmans? Store Reps Say No

Yet, despite the repeatedly emphasized requirement for face coverings in grocery stores, the Wegmans location in Manalapan is presenting a conflicting policy when asked if face masks were required for customers to enter: Coverings are recommended, but not mandatory, multiple customer service representatives at the location are telling customers. "You will be allowed to enter the store [without a mask], but it is a preference that you do wear it," one customer service staffer told Patch.

The con
Medium •

The Vaping Epidemic Is Costing American High Schools Thousands of Dollars.

The Vaping Epidemic Is Costing American High Schools Thousands of Dollars.

Teen nicotine use is rising for the first time in nearly a decade. School districts from across the country are scrambling for funds to curb the trend.

Glendale Unified School District in California recently spent $30,000 on an anti-vaping presentation, a price tag Olentangy Local School District in Ohio then doubled by paying nearly $64,000 to install vape smoke detectors in classrooms. Principal Adam Fine of East Hamp
NBC New York •

Snapchat Dysmorphia: Perils of Seeking 'Selfie' Perfection

The first time Marla Frezza received plastic surgery was after a breakup.

“It was one of the first times that my ego was broken,” 30-year-old Frezza said. “I wanted to boost my self-esteem.”

Since her first non-surgical rhinoplasty, Frezza has seen plastic surgeons for other enhancements including breast implants, lip fillers, a brow lift and other injectables.

Frezza got the ideas for the changes from an app.

“When I started using Snapchat, that was the moment that I was like this needs to